Rocky Mountain Race Week 1.0 Starts June 24th; The Details and Some Competitors to Watch
Starting in 2015, Rocky Mountain Race Week has combined once of the more scenic routes in drag-and-drive events with challenging race conditions at some storied race tracks.
As before, 2023’s event will be a seven day journey of proving competitor and vehicles can handle over 1,000 miles of street driving, as well as five days of racing at four facilities.
The 2023 event will mark the final season for Bandimere Speedway, and both Rocky Mountain Race Week, and Raceweek will visit the storied facility. Rocky Mountain Race Week starts June 24th at Kearney Raceway Park in Nebraska.
The brain child of enthusiast Matthew Frost, Rocky Mountain Race Week features nineteen different classes.
These are some of the competitors to watch in a few of the classes:
Jason Hurley
Piloting a 1985 Pontiac Firebird known as the “Meltdown Firebird”, Hurley has established himself as the man to beat at the top of the charts.
In 2022, Hurley took home the shootout win in the Fast As F*** 8-car field at Rocky Mountain Race Week, as well as clinching the overall win at Race Week, on top of winning the Unlimited class at both events.
Despite the solid finishes at both events, Hurley wanted the elusive “hat trick” by scoring a class win, being overall quickest, and winning the shootout.
To get there, Hurley has shed some weight, made the switch to methanol, and rumored to have a new engine combination between the frame rails.
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Corey Thompson
A three-time winner in the Rocky Mountain Race Week Hot Rod class, Corey Thompson’s twin-turbocharged 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle is considered a favorite to pick this year’s class win.
Thompson comes into RMRW fresh from a recent win in the Super Street class at Sick Summer with a 7.87 average, marking his fourth class win in as many appearances.
Travis Martin
A past class winner and the current Rocky Mountain Race Week Rowdy Radial class record holder, Travis Martin has just gotten his 2001 Chevrolet Camaro back together in time for this event.
Also a player in numerous small tire no-prep events, Martin’s Camaro rolls into this year’s Rocky Mountain Race Week looking for his third-straight class win.
Matt Moore
A top ten finisher at this year’s Sick Week in the Rowdy Radial class, Matt Moore should provide good competition for Martin, as he capped off his Sick Week appearance with a pair of 5.24 runs, close to Martin’s personal best of 5.18.
A past top three finisher in the Rocky Mountain Race Week Ultimate Radial class, the single turbo Mustang of Moore will make its second major drag-and-drive appearance of 2023 on the small 235 tires.
Bill Armstrong
A longtime and past winner of the Rocky Mountain Race Week Stick Shift class, Bill Armstrong is amongst the frontrunners to win in 2023.
Wheeling a twin-turbocharged small block Ford-powered Fairlane, Armstrong was leading the class in 2022 before going out day four with problems.
Aaron Shaffer
A past winner in the Hot Rod Drag Week and Sick Week Street Race classes, Aaron Shaffer has also captured the Raceweek Limited Street title in 2020.
Shaffer looks to offset a pair of Did Not Finish results at the 2021 Rocky Mountain Race Week event, as well as Raceweek 2021 edition.
For those unable to attend the event, Rocky Mountain Race Week’s racing activities will be live-streamed on the BangShift website.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, 1320 Video, Motion Raceworks and Travis Martin.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com